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All I know is that when I used MapInstall with my Hcx with the 2GB card installed, there was only ONE choice on which to install maps and it was "Hcx - Unit ID xxxxxx". When I said "continue" it showed 2GB of memory. Period.

I ASSUMED that my 30x, with 2GB card installed, MapInstall would show 5.8 GB of memory. It didn't. OK, my bad for assuming. I figured out that memory cards now showing up as a separate USB drive. But I didn't learn that from the owner's manual.

Since my original question was whether a better owner's manual were available, it would have been much more helpful if the above replies had said something like, "Check out the tutorials on this site. They may have what you are looking for."

I've since found other sites with more detailed Garmin guidance, but a little pointing in the right direction would have been more helpful than picking apart my posts on such things as whether the memory MapInstall showed on my Hcx included internal memory on the Hcx or just the SD card.

The specific question was whether a better manual was available. But since you focused on my example about memory....

When I inserted my 2GB card into my Hcx, the memory displayed by MapInstall was increased by 2GB. The SD card was considered the same as internal memory. (Granted, there wasn't a plethora of internal memory to start with.)

On the 30x, after installing my 2GB card, MapInstaller still only showed the device's ~3.8 GB memory. I didn't understand why my 2GB card had not increased the memory, and the manual didn't explain it either. Only after playing with the 30x did I discover that the internal memory and micro SD card are treated separately. You choose which memory to use for your maps, but maps don't "overflow" from the device to the SD card if the device memory gets filled. By my math, 1 GB available on the device plus a 2 GB card equals 3 GB. But the 2.8 GB City Navigator North America can't be fully loaded without manually selecting which pieces go in which memory. That wasn't the case on the Hcx. Of course, with the 30x, once loaded on either the device or SD card, all the maps are usable. But I needed to discover that by myself. A better manual would have helped.

I just upgraded my Vista Hcx to an eTrex 30x. The owner's manual absolutely stinks. The Hcx manual was not great, but the 30x one is even worse. I've found several errors, some even carried over from the Hcx manual. Much of the information is technically true, but so incomplete as to be unuseful. For example, regarding micro SD cards, all they do is tell you how to insert and remove one. I thought my SD card would expand my 30x's memory, like it did on the Hcx, but that's not the case apparently.

So, are there any better manuals or tutorials for Garmin units out there? I've looked a bit, but no luck so far.

Thanks!